A limited-time apple interlude, courtesy of Billy's

As part of the Billy's Tribeca Grand Opening celebration, we held a contest for customers to submit ideas for Billy's next bestselling product. The winning suggestion will be featured from July 19-25 at both Billy's locations. We chose the winner two weeks ago, and since then, the bakers have been testing recipes. Behold, the exceptionally delicious creation:

What is it??

That, of course, is an apple cupcake with cream cheese frosting. A cross-section reveals a hearty, brown-sugar-heavy batter packed with chunks of real apple.

Visible brown sugar... niiiiice

The scrumptious creation tastes almost like an appley gingerbread, full of those delicious gingerbread spices. Combined with our traditionally outrageous cream cheese frosting, which is given a smart dusting of cinnamon-sugar, this cupcake is a truly craveable treat. Mark your calendars-- it will only be available for one short week, so come on down and grab one when you can. Rest assured that I'll be eating as many as possible during that time...

From latkes to coffee cake: A culinary journey at Gramercy Tavern

Last Monday, on my actual ACTUAL birthday, AV and I made our way to a destination none other than Gramercy Tavern. Since last Hannukah, I've had a gift certificate for GT wasting away in my desk, awaiting the perfect time for deployment. Consider that time now. In our holiday finest, we entered the soothing space and were shown to a well-placed corner table in the festive yet understated dining room. After adjusting to the setup of sitting quasi-next to each other (which always takes some getting used to for us... see here), we settled in and were ready to attack the feast to follow.

First up: the drinks. Because nothing screams "celebration" quite like sparkling wine, I went with a glass of Peillot Brut, which was dry, mouthwatering, and crisp-- the perfect aperitif. Meanwhile, AV chose one of GT's creative cocktails: a "Last Straw," which included Maker's Mark, chartreuse, bitters, and iced tea. It was incredibly well-blended while simultaneously being manly and putting hair on your chest. Cue sounds of hunting buffalo, bench-pressing, and ripping open one's shirt to pound one's chest. Manly.

Gahrhrhrrawwrhrhhhr

With our drinks in hand, we placed our food order, choosing from the prix-fixe offerings, and were soon greeted by the bread man. Our choices: a "regular" roll, a sourdough slice, and an olive roll, all accompanied by fresh butter and a tiny dish of coarse salt. AV went with the regular roll, and I chose an olive roll. The dough was textbook-ly delicious, crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. The whole olives studding my roll were salty and tender. Perfect.

Very regular

Salty and full of olive-y goodness

Next up: the amuse bouche. We were each presented with a tiny golden ball, which we were told contained olive tapenade inside potato, all resting on a bed of shredded hard cheese (parmesan?). AV proclaimed it "the best thing he's ever put in his mouth" (careful...), and I almost concur: it was perfectly fried with creamy potato and a burst of saltiness in the interior. The cheese in the dish added a layer of flavor and complexity you didn't realize was missing until it hit your tongue. It tasted like a perfectly spherical, salty potato latke, but the uber-latke, if that makes sense. I think if GT had given us just a dish of these amuse-bouches and charged us $86 per person, we would have been happy.

Simple, beautiful perfection

But of course, there was much more food to tackle. Our first courses were coming around the bend, so we left our amuse-bouches behind and readied ourselves. AV chose the lamb pappardelle with olives, lemon confit, and swiss chard. He said it was hearty and filling and tasty (all good things, I promise). Plus, it looked beautiful:

Incredibly photogenic pasta

My starter was the arugula and turnip salad with turnip-saffron dressing. It consisted of a mass of arugula with a few shavings of turnip on top; while I was a bit surprised that there wasn't more turnip incorporated into the dish, the arugula was perfectly dressed and well-flavored, making this salad a light and well-executed beginning to the meal.

Simple and light

After our appetizers were cleared, there was a bit of a wait before our entrees arrived-- perfect for us to digest. In the meantime, my glass of bubbly dispatched, I ordered a three-ounce taste of an interesting white wine, a Txakoli from Spain. It was lively, a bit herbal, and great with food (and kudos to GT for offering the option of full glasses OR tastes for their wines by the glass, just like Proof in DC).

Soon, our entrees did make their way to the table. AV had ordered the Beef Sirloin and Braised Flat Iron, with English peas and Sucrine lettuce. He said it was incredibly rich and tender, making for a very meaty but satisfying meal. It's worth noting it was also quite a big portion, unusual for prix-fixe or tasting menus.

Mmmm, meat

My choice was actually a selection from the Vegetable tasting menu (not the prix-fixe menu), a request they easily accommodated. Entitled "Warm Salad of Vegetables and Black Lentils," it was so much more-- an incredible medley of interesting veggies (check out that purple cauliflower floret!) on a bed of al dente black lentils (themselves an unusual food) and dollops of different sauces. This dish was very filling and almost cerebral-- it made me think about how interesting veggies can be. Delish.

A beautiful melange

And then the moment we'd all been waiting for: dessert. Both of us were pretty full at that point, but press on, people, press on. First, the dessert amuse-bouche (of course), a gorgeous concoction of crisp meringue, mint ice cream, raspberry puree, and a blackberry. This could have served as my dessert on its own, it was that good. And did I mention beautiful?

Like a piece of modern art

While I was tempted by the Rhubarb Brown Butter cake on the dessert menu, I was just a touch too full to attempt it, so I went with the blueberry peach streusel tart. You can see how good it was by the fact that I took a huge bite before I even remembered to take a picture (at least I blew out the candle first...). The tart was incredible, bursting with brown sugar and soft fruit. But the roasted almond ice cream was superlative, and the tiny crumbles of outrageousness it rested upon may have been the best ingredient of all. As you can tell, I liked this dessert, and I also appreciated the effusive "Happy Birthday!" they wrote on the plate. Awww.

Dessert in progress

AV chose the strawberry cheesecake, accompanied by Mandarin Grand Marnier sorbet. I took a bite of the cheesecake, and it was the lightest, airiest, most insane cheesecake I've ever had. If you're craving a real gutbomb, that kind of cheesecake a la Cheesecake Factory that weighs about two and a half pounds per slice, this isn't it; rather, it's a miraculous concoction of cheesecake that almost floats off the fork. With macerated strawberries on top, what else could you ask for?

Cheesy and light

You'd think that we'd be done by then, but my friends, we weren't. A plate of mignardises completed our incredible meal. From the top: a chocolate tart that tasted of some mysterious herb; a chocolate truffle; and a macaron (possibly raspberry?) that was a contender for the best single bite of the evening. Aaannndd cue food coma.

Delicious little bites

Finally, perhaps to ease the pain of the check, GT thoughtfully provides each diner with a take-home coffee cake for the next morning. I can't attest to the deliciousness of this item, as I donated it to the AV Early Morning Eats fund. But from hearsay-- i.e., the fact that both coffee cakes were quickly dispatched at 5:30AM the next morning-- I can vouch for the quality of these parting gifts.

The perfect ending... for tomorrow morning

Gramercy Tavern provided a delightful, delicious, and memorable birthday dinner, just what I've come to expect from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group. If you're looking for something a bit less formal than Eleven Madison Park but still quite special, GT fits the bill (as long as you can, ahem, fit their not insubstantial bill). From the top-notch bread to the parade of incredible freebies (circular olive latke, I'm looking at you), GT earns its five Offset Spatulas easily.

Gramercy Tavern
42 E. 20th Street, at Park Avenue South
212-477-0777

Notes on Citi Field

Last night, I made my way with the whole family to Citi Field, where I consumed many things. As most NYC-ers know by now, Citi Field has abundant and creative food offerings, including outposts of Shake Shack and Blue Smoke. Especially if you're a meat lover, you'll be happy as a clam there. But I made do with several dessert/snack-ish items, as follows:

1) Carvel soft serve, chocolate-vanilla swirl. Creamy, sweet, and delicious-- a solid rendition, which definitely hit the spot. The bro got some later and reported you could get free rainbow sprinkles. I was not offered sprinkles. I was upset.

2) Blue cotton candy. I am obsessed with cotton candy. It tastes like blue sugar (mmm, blue). I've been known to put away significant quantities at once, but unfortunately Citi Field's $4 package was a paltry offering, dispatched in about three minutes flat. Point me to Fenway Park, where they give you about two and a half pounds of cotton candy, which can last me several innings at least.

3) Box Frites. I basically forced the bro to get these, but boy were we both happy. They offer you one dipping sauce with each order of fries, with selections ranging from mayo to olive & pepperoncini to chipotle (spelled "chipolte" on the menu signs) to smoky bacon. The bro went with smokey bacon, so I abstained from the sauce, but let me tell you one thing: if you like french fries, you will LOVE Box Frites' rendition. They are incredibly crisp and tasty and just beg to be scarfed piping hot. Don't be deterred from the long lines; they move relatively quickly, and there are enormous monitors everywhere so you don't miss a second of the game, wherein the Mets might be losing 11-2, thereby making the line at Box Frites actually significantly more entertaining than the game you're missing.

4) Cannoli from Mama's of Corona. Mom came back from an expedition around the food areas (did I mention we were searching for alternate methods of entertainment?) with ample cannoli for everyone, which, given the amount of food I had consumed by this point, presented a bit of a conundrum for me. I solved the "I'm full but oh man I want some cannoli" debate by having a bite of the end of the pastry, decorated in true home-team fashion with blue and orange sprinkles. Fortunately for the future health of my stomach, I wasn't a huge fan of this cannoli; the filling was average, and the pastry shell was heavily spiced with cinnamon, which was a bit of a turnoff for me. Just as well. The bro finished mine off, so I didn't feel too bad.

So there you go-- a brief look at Citi Field from the eyes of my stomach. It was a pretty impressive showing of dessert consumption, if I do say so myself (and I do). Rest assured that when I returned home, I gobbled a delicious Wawa string cheese before collapsing into bed. Heaven.

D.C. proves itself with Proof

Sunday evening was our last night in D.C. (as well as being my birthday eve), so the time was ripe for celebrating. We headed across the city to one of the few places in D.C. that I knew about in advance (and one of the very few that were in our price range): Proof.

It was a Sunday night, so we were able to get a table no problem. We were led into the cool, hip-ly decorated restaurant to an enormous cushy booth, all to ourselves. The vibe was simultaneously upbeat and chill, with loud but not overbearing music and cool touches like boudoir-themed bathrooms with black toilets. Nice.

Anyway, back to the food and drink. I started with a glass of sparkling "Punkt" gruner veltliner, an interesting selection I'd never had before. It was crisp and tasty, served in a beautiful glass, and a great start to the meal. AV chose a Fruli strawberry Belgian white beer, which our server described as with a "touch of strawberry" but was positively bursting with the fruit. It was so strawberry-packed even I liked it. We also sipped water from their cool, tulip-shaped glasses. Very nice all around.

The magic flute

Bursting with berries

Such a graceful vessel

While other tables around us started out with yummy-looking flatbread, our table was still sadly breadless as our first dish arrived. We had decided to start with the olives, which was an extremely generous portion of the little bites. This was a good selection, refreshingly un-oily, and a perfect way to begin the meal.

Like little pebbles

For the rest of our meal, we had ordered a selection of apps. AV went with the "spicy little meatballs" with goat cheese agnolotti and tomato fondue. These were heartily approved, although they would have been better with bread.

Speecy-spicy meatball

My main selection was a "Roasted baby beets and kaleidoscope carrots with aged goat cheese" salad. This was quite a creative salad, offering an interesting twist on the traditional beets-and-goat cheese pairing. The beets were tender and sweet, artfully offset by the funky aged goat cheese (although I tend to prefer fresh goat cheese, but that's just me). The carrots were the long and thin mini kind, which I love. And the bed of well-dressed arugula was studded with crushed hazelnuts. A rich and very delicious salad.

Beautifully packed with flavors

Finally, we split the salad of local asparagus and sunflower shoots. This salad, draped with a covering of parmesan, was also creative, with halved peeled asparagus spears in a bed of tasty greens. I liked it, although AV pointed out he prefers his asparagus warm. Good to know.

Lots of artful draping

About halfway through our final salad, we realized the bread was not forthcoming, so we flagged down our waiter and asked him for some, in addition to placing an order for a second glass of wine for me (a two-ounce taste of Greco di Tufo, an interesting white he had recommended. Extra kudos to Proof for offering all wines by the glass in three different sizes, which lets you try lots of different kinds). While the glass of wine did arrive, no bread did. So finally we flagged down a different waiter, who finally brought over a container of salt-sprinkled thick flatbread with an accompanying dish of greek yogurt for dipping. While it was tasty, especially with the oil-drizzled yogurt, it wasn't really worth the wait. We both would have preferred "real" (i.e., non-flat) bread, which I think would have gone better with the wine and food selections Proof offered.

Like sails blowing in the wind

We debated their dessert menu, particularly an enticing sticky toffee pudding, but we were both a bit too full for a full-fledged dessert, so we paid the check and skipped out to the nearby outpost of Gifford's for an ice cream extravaganza. Mmmm. But bread issues aside, we were both very happy with Proof-- the food was both thoughtful and well-executed, creative without straying from comfortable flavors. And our waiter was reassuringly knowledgeable about wine, something I really like seeing from staff at wine-centric establishments. If I lived in D.C., I know Proof could well be one of my favorite places. It's an easy-going, friendly and comfortable four-Offset Spatula destination.

Proof
775 G Street
202-737-7663

Life with Food and Drink goes to Washington! And eats cupcakes. Obvi.

This past weekend, AV took me to Washington, D.C., for a four-day celebratory weekend. On Friday night, we had a lovely barbecue at the home of one of AV's friends; Saturday, we woke up and explored the city, ultimately bumping into the 4th of July parade, which was watched for an hour or so. A helpful hint for all my readers with an even slightly cynical bent: No one human creation provides more opportunities for observing/commenting/making fun of all aspects of humanity than a parade. We had fun.

That afternoon, we ventured into Georgetown with two of AV's friends, JK and LM (our intrepid tour guides for the weekend), to see the swanky sights. And by "swanky sights" I mean cupcakes. Being as I am in the cupcake biz, part of my obligation as a good citizen is to check out the rival offerings anywhere I go, so I had two destinations in mind: Baked and Wired and Georgetown Cupcakes, both located on side streets off the main Georgetown drag.

First up: Baked and Wired. The shop is a combo coffee shop/bake shop, and it has a pretty cool/hip vibe with just a touch of attitude. The layout of the goodies was slightly reminiscent of Billy's, without the cupcake case, and I made my selection from the treats displayed on diferent kinds of cake tiers on the counter. I chose a carrot cupcake and a chocolate-vanilla cupcake ($3.50 each!!), which were packed in a cute little two-cupcake box. We had designs to eat them after dinner while watching fireworks on the Mall, so after we rested in the seating area of the cafe for a bit, I went back up to the counter to grab a bag. Unfortunately, nobody was there-- literally, there were no workers even within eyeshot of me. I stood and waited for a minute or so, all by my lonesome, and then I just walked behind the counter and grabbed a bag for our cupcake box. I suppose it's all in keeping with the "relaxed" vibe of Baked and Wired, no?

In line at B&W

The goods, packed snugly

With our box and bag in tow, we made our way to Georgetown Cupcakes. Georgetown Cupcakes seems to be D.C.'s Magnolia, right down to the line out the door. Sigh. It turns out, though, that the line is more to do with the fact that only about 4 people fit inside the shop at any given time than with overwhelming demand; after about 5 minutes of waiting, we were up. The cupcakes are all arranged behind a glass counter, and it seems as though those ones are for display while the workers pack your selection in the back. It seemed like a good system, since they kept the line moving. I went with a chocolate-vanilla, a red velvet, and a mocha (for JK and LM); the three traditional size (read: smallish) cupcakes were packed in a cool pink box. We were off.

The line outside...Sigh

The counter with cupcakes for show

Sweet pink box

Three little gems

Later that night, after a delicious Asian-fusion dinner at Mie n Yu, we found ourselves on blankets on the Mall, awaiting the fireworks. A cupcake fest ensued. I cut each cupcake into fourths so each of us could try them all. First up: the Georgetown Cupcakes offerings. Both were ahh-kay, if that makes sense; the cake was pretty standard on both, with the RV a little spongey and the chocolate large-crumbed but richly chocolatey. It was the frosting that prevented these from becoming stellar cupcakes-- it was light and whipped and too insubstantial for my taste, almost with the texture of cream cheese frosting without enough powdered sugar. These were certainly good renditions of what they were, but I definitely prefer my frosting richer and thicker.

Georgetown RV

Georgetown chocolate-vanilla. Festive.

And that's just what Baked and Wired provided. These cupcakes were housed in the same type of cool cupcake paper as Sweet Revenge in NYC, just a parchment square that unfolds as you eat the cake inside. These tiny cakes were large, as well, just on the reasonable side of Crumbs-sized-- certainly a substantial treat. First, I tried the carrot: A rich cake packed with walnuts, tasty though not as moist as Billy's, with a good solid cream-cheese frosting (and a good amount of it, too). Then the chocolate-vanilla: Very moist chocolate cake, rich and delicious buttercream, a real winner. The B&W chocolate-vanilla was my favorite of the bunch; it reminded me a bit of Amy's Bread chocolate cupcakes and was eminently craveable. Next time I go back to D.C., I'll go back to B&W-- though their cupcakes are expensive, they're good stuff.

B&W Carrot

B&W chocolate-vanilla

Stomachs packed full of sugar and fat, we collapsed on the blankets and played cards until we were treated to a delightful fireworks show that lit up the Washington Monument. Happy birthday, America!

Pre-birthday delights at Jojo

On Saturday evening, AV surprised me with the first of many, many birthday celebrations (my birthday is this coming Monday, and like any good six-year-old, I'm SUPER excited). He made the reservation and we hopped in a cab, and only when he told the driver the address did I know where we were going: Jojo!

Jojo, another one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurants, is another place I've been wanting to go for a while. I remember passing it once and noting how cute it looked, all the while making a mental note to check it out. Well, apparently AV also made a mental note, because here we were for birthday dinner #1.

Jojo is situated in a very precious townhouse on the UES, and we were led up an old-fashioned staircase to our table on the second floor. The other parties were all older foursomes, which provided some very interesting eavesdropping (score!). After enduring a highly awkward specials recitation, which included not only every single ingredient in the fois gras brulee but also precisely how the dish was prepared from start to finish, we placed our orders and dove right into the waiting bread basket. This, my friends, was FANTASTIC bread, rivaling that of Blue Hill in the "bread that makes you feel bad about yourself" category. The bread had an enviable sharp crust with a soft, stretchy, chewy interior, feather-light while still substantial in the mouth. Slathered with butter, it was transcendent. The only potential demerit was the fact that they gave us three portions, that loneliest number in the bread basket realm, but fortunately I was more than satisfied with one baguette.

Oh, bread. Perfection.

Then, promptly, on to our appetizers. We had mentioned that we wanted to split the goat cheese appetizer, and without us even asking they plated it separately. Huge extra points there. This delicious dish consisted of a slab of Coach Farms goat cheese enveloped by a slim belt of potato, all bruleed to a warm, tender crisp, and accompanied by a small mesclun salad and a lagoon of arugula puree. The goat cheese here was as delicious as any warm goat cheese can be, expertly complemented by the condiments and the almost shockingly tasty vinaigrette on the lettuce.

Concentrated tastes

On to the entrees. AV had chosen the short ribs, which came with carrot puree and a forest of tiny mushrooms. Not a huge fan of mushrooms, AV offered most of them to me (delish), but he also tried a few himself and didn't recoil. He also very much enjoyed the tender and filling short ribs.

Highly colorful

My own entree was a selection off the vegetarian tasting menu (gracefully offered a la carte upon request). It was an artichoke salad with baby arugula and pine nuts. This was actually quite a hearty portion, fresh and tasty and just filling enough. Well done.

Ample veggie goodness

On to desserts, of course. AV went with the molten chocolate cake. You can't go wrong here, and Jojo certainly didn't-- the cake was rich and warm and melty, and the vanilla ice cream was perfect.

The classic

My choice, the passion pavlova, was incredible: a fragile sphere of crisp meringue, filled with passionfruit sorbet and topped with fresh passion fruit, all garnished with fresh whipped cream. Incredibly fruity, sweet, and delicious.

Slimy but sweet!

Oh, and of course, there were cocoa-dusted almonds at the end. Delicioso!

Freebies

Jojo provided a very, very special birthday meal. The setting is incomparable-- an ornate townhouse in which I instantly felt both comfortable and serene. The other patrons inadvertently offer some solid entertainment, and the food (of course) is enviable. The thoughtfulness of AV underlying the whole evening didn't hurt, either. I would highly, highly recommend Jojo for a special occasion. If you're aiming for a refined atmosphere without a lot of stuffiness, Jojo is a four Offset Spatula destination that fits the bill perfectly.

Jojo
160 E. 64th Street, at Lexington Ave
212-223-5656

Where everybody knows your name... sort of

Part of the joy of living in a particular NYC neighborhood for any length of time is finding your neighborhood places-- you know, the place where you go to get your groceries, the place where you go to grab a six-pack of beer, the place(s) where you go for take-out. And, of course, that most coveted of places: your neighborhood watering hole. I've been living in Hell's Kitchen for just about two years now, and I still haven't quite found my Cheers, where I've felt it was truly worth the investment to go often enough to establish a relationship with the place and the proprietors. Well, over the past few weeks I think I may have found that place. It's got it all-- good drinks (particularly good wine), good food, reasonable prices, an enjoyable atmosphere, little attitude, and close proximity to my apartment. I almost don't even want to tell you about it, because it's a tiny place and I don't want to give away a neighborhood secret... but on the other hand, it deserves recognition. And so here you have it: Riposo 46.

I've been meaning to go there ever since I've moved here. Their sandwich board of specials always has delicious-sounding salads, but the tiny size of the wine bar has always intimidated me (I really don't like waiting for a table). Finally, however, a couple weeks ago, AV and I stopped in for a casual glass of wine late on a Saturday evening. And then last week we came back for some wine... and cheese...and olives. And then last Friday I met my friend KS for a catch-up glass of wine, during which I dispatched the following cheese plate:

Manchego, in my tummy

It was large, and delicious, as is everything on offer on Riposo's cheese-heavy menu. They have phenomenal-looking flatbread pizzas, salads, charcuterie, and sandwiches. But the cheese plates are extravagant, and a single cheese with all the bread and fruit and nut accompaniments is only about $7 or $8, depending on your cheese selection. It's fantastic. And the well-edited wine list has a good selection of well-priced beers and wines by the glass, all of which are poured with a heavy hand into delightful glassware (and if you go during Happy Hour, between 4 and 6PM, you get $2 off any glass of wine or beer). The bartenders are knowledgeable and friendly without being overbearing, and like any good wine bar, they let you linger as long as you like. The vibe is classy but understated, perfect for any mood. I love it, and since Riposo 46 is nearly always full, I know I'm not alone.

Riposo 46
667 Ninth Avenue, betwen 46th and 47th Streets
212-247-8018